Quiche (and crackers)

A classic in my family, a memory of Sunday evenings, at the family table or to take away for my trip back to my student room.

I give you a shortcrust pastry recipe if you want to make it yourself, otherwise take or make the dough you like!

INGREDIENTS – Shortcrust pastry

• 250gr of flour
• 1 pinch of salt
• 125gr of butter
• 50g of water
• 1 egg yolk (optional, replace with 20g of water otherwise)

RECIPE – Shortcrust pastry

• Mix the salt with the flour.
• Add the butter (preferably cold) in pieces. Work with your fingertips by coating the pieces of flour butter and crushing them by sliding your thumb over your fingers. Re-coat them with flour and repeat until there is no more “free” flour (which does not coat with butter). The mixture remains coarse. Small and large pieces, that’s normal.
• Add the egg yolk and mix quickly, then immediately add the water.
• Combine the dough and form a ball.
• Let stand at least 1 hour.
• Spread (at 3mm for me, between two wooden sticks 3mm thick that can be found in DIY stores for example), darken, prick the bottom with a fork and let stand another 2 hours .

TRICK. From the moment you have incorporated the egg and flour – and this applies to all pasta recipes – work the dough as little as possible, otherwise it will develop gluten and its elasticity. Resting the dough will make it less elastic and it will shrink less during spreading and baking.

RECIPE – Crackers

With my scraps of dough, I make some crackers for the aperitif:

• Re-form a ball with your dough scraps (be careful if you used a puff pastry, if you mix them as it is, you will lose the puff pastry, you will rather have to stack them on top of each other, as flat as possible and re-spread)
• Spread again to 3mm (or more or less depending on your preference, they will be a little thinner because I re-spread them a little later)
• Add whatever you want to your crackers. In the photo I took a mixture of seeds and a mixture of 4 spices. But my creations vary as desired: put seeds, spices, cheese, herbs … Or plain if you want to use them with a spread.
• Add salt.
• Spread again (without the crimps, we want to refine), so that the additions are embedded in the dough.
• If desired, brown with egg (or milk, or not as in the photo)
• You can also cut them before cooking, it will be more practical.

INGREDIENTS – Migaine (this is the name for the liquid garnish of the Quiche)

• 4 eggs
• 4 tablespoons of fresh cream
• 2 tablespoons of milk
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• salt & pepper

RECIPE – Migaine

Mix it all up! With a whisk, it’s easier. If you like a “flan / clafoutis” texture, beat hard until there are no lumps. . If you prefer a lighter, more airy texture, don’t beat too hard and stop when there are still a few small lumps.

HISTORY. The quiche recipe has evolved a lot since its first mention in the 16th century.

The name comes from the Lorraine region “kich” (cuisine) which originates from the word “küche” (kitchen in German).

The first written recipes date from 300 years later… And they are more like what we call today a pie: a device based on white poppy soaked in water overnight, ground, to which milk was added, cream and chopped onions in butter. The whole enclosed between two pastas and gilded with egg yolk.

It is around 1870 that we find a version with eggs and cream, but without bacon!

Today’s recipes have replaced some of the cream with milk to make it a little less rich, some add grated cheese, but if you do not want to get in any trouble with a Lorraine guy, then never say that this is a quiche!

INGREDIENTS – Garnish & Finalization

• 250gr of bacon
• 250gr of shoulder dice

RECIPE – Garnish & Finalization

• Blanch the bacon (this step is used to remove some of the salt used for storage): cover with cold water and boil 3-4 minutes. Drain them. If you have fresh breast, firm it a little in the pan, without colouring.
• Divide the filling over the dough.
• (Optional: Add grated cheese)
• Pour the Migaine over the dough
• Bake 30 minutes at 210 ° C (to be adapted according to the ovens, my cooking times change with each moving…)
• Classically, I just serve it with a salad.

IDEAS. This classic recipe serves as the basis for very different tastes: you can add a variety of garnishes: ham / spinach, chicken / mushrooms, tuna / ratatouille, salmon / leeks, onions … You can also put herbs or spices in the Migaine : I often make a garnish with toppings of cauliflower with a migraine with cumin, or a garnish with cherry tomatoes in summer with a Migaine of oregano (or thyme …), and for the cheese, we can add gruyère, emmental, parmigiano …

I love this recipe, which is so adaptable and always quick to make, tell me if you liked it and how you adapted it at home!